That’s probably because the first attempt at a logo was lampooned by you, dear Web readers. In the summer of last year, one of Japan’s top graphic artists, Kenjiro Sano, proudly unveiled the below.

It’s nice, isn’t it? Clean, simple, and makes use of Japanese iconography. The official press release boasted,

“The black colour of the central column represents diversity, the combination of all colours. The shape of the circle represents an inclusive world in which everyone accepts each other. The red of the circle represents the power of every beating heart.”

Kenjiro Sano said that he’d never been to Belgium, or even seen the logo. The Japanese Olympic Committee stood by him, for a bit. That was until, Sano later admitted that his team copied graphic designs for a beer brand’s promotional campaign.

To sate the sense of injustice felt by fans of Belgian theatre, they held an open competition for anyone to submit alternatives. As we found with our logo redesign recently, people bloody love a logo contest.

The games received 14,599 entries, but they decided to go with the Harmonized Checkered Emblem by Asao Tokolo, a Japanese designer. Organizers said the checkered design in the traditional Japanese color of indigo blue expresses a refined elegance and sophistication that exemplifies Japan.

I think they went with the safest logo possible, because no one likes to be trolled, even the Japanese Olympic Committee.